Polk Sheriff's Lieutenant Wounded in Shooting Near Mulberry

Sunday

Nov 4, 2012 at 3:29 PMNov 5, 2012 at 2:16 PM

Lt. Terry Storie is taken to LRMC, where he is treated and released.

By CLIFFORD PARODYTHE LEDGER

MULBERRY | A Mulberry man is in custody after a Polk County sheriff's lieutenant was shot in the leg during a tense, SWAT-involved standoff that began when deputies were called to the scene of a possible suicide attempt.Sheriff Grady Judd said Lt. Terry Storie was taken to Lakeland Regional Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries and released soon after.Storie, 47, has been with the Sheriff's Office for 19 years and is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran. The Sheriff's Office said he is married and has three children.Judd said 42-year-old Douglas Meadows is in custody and faces counts of attempted first-degree murder.The incident began about noon on the 4000 block of Poinsettia Drive just west of Mulberry.Judd said the Sheriff's Office received a report of a man who was threatening to commit suicide with a gun. When deputies arrived shortly after noon, they heard gunshots and took cover. David Vela, 17, was at a friend's house nearby when the first shot was fired."I was knocking on the door when I heard the gunshot," Vela said. "A lady yelled at us to get behind the house so we ran into the backyard."Officials said deputies heard Meadows yell to his wife, 38-year-old Samantha Meadows, to get out of the house, saying that he was "going to end it all." She left the house a short time later.Sheriff's spokeswoman Stephanie Mier said Meadows then barricaded himself in the home and continued firing at deputies with a hunting rifle equipped with a scope. Mier said Storie was hit by a round that apparently ricocheted off the gravel and struck him in the right leg.Meanwhile, Vela said, he and his friend jumped the fence and ran to his uncle's house where they could get a better view."The officer got shot in the leg, like on his shin, and he was limping down the street," Vela said. "Every time I heard a gunshot, I ducked down. I was afraid I was going to get shot."Vela and his friend said they heard numerous shots.A SWAT team was called in, and the State Fire Marshall brought an iCore Caliber robot. The robot, which is normally used in bomb squads, is equipped with six cameras and can relay information back to law enforcement. "We were going to use the robot because deputies couldn't see what was going on in the house," Judd said. "If we had seen a target, we would have shot.""This man was out of control and was on a mission to kill deputies," Judd said.Judd said that as the robot approached the house, Meadows opened fire, shooting it three or four times. The robot was damaged but is still operational."The robot taking fire probably saved a deputy's life today," fire marshal bomb technician Brandon Ball said. Soon after the robot was hit, deputies threw gas into the house and Meadows came out unarmed and surrendered, officials said.Judd said deputies never fired any shots during the standoff. "Today he gets up and goes fishing with his wife," Judd said. "His wife told deputies that he drank enough alcohol that she had to drive them home."Judd said the alcohol may have saved the lives of his deputies."The rifle is capable of very accurate shots from a distance," Judd said. "Fortunately, he had been drinking so his aim was little off."Meadows was being booked into the Polk County Jail on multiple counts Sunday evening, including counts of attempted first-degree murder of a law enforcement officer. Early Monday the Sheriff's Office said Meadows is being charged with several firearms violations as well.Officials said Meadows does not have a criminal record that they are aware of, and there are no reports of any mental illnesses. Mier said deputies found several firearms inside the home.The investigation is ongoing.

[ Clifford Parody can be reached at clifford.parody@theledger.com or 863-802-7516. ]

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